


The Rivalry

by CattaRegina



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-08
Updated: 2014-01-08
Packaged: 2018-01-07 23:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1125851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CattaRegina/pseuds/CattaRegina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An outpouring of House pride sparks a fierce rivalry between the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch teams. [Hogwarts AU, Gen. Contains mild violence and pranks.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Rivalry

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moonstruckNeophyte](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonstruckNeophyte/gifts).



> Ladystuck 2013 gift for moonstruckNeophyte. I hope you enjoy this gift!

“What do you see, dear?” Professor Trelawney’s bespectacled eyes peered at Rose over the crystal ball between them. “What does the Orb tell you about what is to come?”

Rose folded her hands in front of her. “I see I see cats fighting over a piece of fish that disappears into the air..”

“And what do you think that means?” Trelawney learned forward, spectacles nearly touching Rose’s nose and eyes nearly as wide as the orb below her. “What do you foretell?”

“A pointless conflict. The more each tries to win, the less likely it is that any of them will.” Rose frowned for a moment, seeming not to notice Trelawney’s frantic grin. “That seems like-”

“No, no, my dear, that is precisely what is to happen. You have all the makings of a true Seer, Miss Lalonde! Ten points to Slytherin.”

As the professor swept away from the table towards the next group, where Terezi was intently licking her own crystal ball, Rose’s frown faded into a satisfied smile.

“High-five, Rose!” Vriska whispered audibly, leaning over with her hand raised. “Our house is the best.”

“An indisputable fact,” Rose agreed, returning the gesture. 

“That’s got to be what I saw just now! Something about the tears of our enemies. Or just how badly we’ll defeat them. Something like that. Heeeeeeeey, do you think it means we’ll win our next Quidditch match?! What am I even saying, of course we will! We’re Slytherin!”

“So…” Terezi leaned over, absently wiping off her crystal ball with a piece of cloth. “That would be the match against Gryffindor?”

Two pairs of eyes wandered across the room and met the less-than-pleased gaze of one Jade Harley, Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. 

The three Slytherins grinned in unison.

“How about a bet, Jade?” Vriska stood and reached out a hand towards Jade. “Five Galleons and House dignity on the match next Saturday.”

“That’s a little much, isn’t-” Rose was cut off as Jade stood and took Vriska’s hand, gripping it tightly enough for their knuckles to stand out.

“Fine! We have a deal!”

As soon as they released their handshake Vriska began to laugh.

-

 

“…so then Trelawney asked her to leave; all that laughing was kind of creepy, and I think it was disturbing all the other students. But she still looked really smug!” Jade said, tossing her bag onto the floor of the Great Hall and sliding onto one of the Gryffindor table’s benches. “Ugh, I’m just so mad at her!”

Feferi gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. "Don't let Vriska get to you! She's been like that all year. Not that this is going to change anything, because of course we’re going to win next week!”

“Well… About that!” Jade slouched in her seat, hesitantly meeting the eyes of the Quidditch team members sitting around her – it wasn’t all of them, this was no team pep talk, but half the team counted for something, right? “Slytherin’s team is really, really good… and it’s the first match of the season!”

“So? We can still beat them easily,” Latula pointed out.

“And… Vriska’s kind of aggressive! You know she’s going to be aiming for us.”

“You mean for you?” Feferi asked. “She always aims for us!”

“…Okay, me! And I’m sort of important!”

“Of course; you’re our glorious Captain! And I guess,” Feferi added with a shrug, “we also need you to stop the other team from scoring points and all, but…”

“Who says we don’t have the advantage, though?” Latula leaned forward over the table to give Jade’s hands a reassuring pat, apparently not noticing her elbow ending up in the mashed potatoes. “I love my sister, but she’s as blind as Trelawney! …But just to be sure, you don’t get hit either, okay, Neps?”

“I promise to not get hit, either!” Nepeta said around a mouthful of fish.

“Besides, we have the best Chasers ever!” Feferi held out her hand under the table for a fistbump from Latula. “We’ll score enough points that we could lose both of you and we’d still win!”

“I’d kind of prefer that not happen…” Jade gave the present half of her team a shaky smile that slowly began to solidify into something more genuine, “but I think we can definitely put up a good fight! So how about practice tonight? I’ll go book the pitch!”

With nervous laughter, her teammates quietly slid back into place and busied themselves with more lunch.

“…so that’s a yes, right?”

-

“Practice tonight at 8!” Vriska had hollered down the corridor at Rose as they parted after Potions class. She’d taken off back to the Common Room before Rose could respond. And in this case, the response would have been something Vriska would have wanted (or needed) to hear.

“From what you’ve told me, there’s no point in going.” Kanaya set down her quill and shifted on her bench to face Rose, sitting next to her. “It isn’t something you need to worry about.”

“I know.” 

“You’ve been staring at your Divination textbook for the last twenty minutes.”

“I know, Kanaya. It’s just a question of duty.” Rose sighed and closed the book, moving it to the side. “What would I accomplish by hearing Vriska shout at the Gryffindor team for twenty minutes? Logic dictates that is time I could spend studying instead.”

“We have eight months to the N.E.W.T.S.,” Kanaya said in a tone that Rose suspected was probably meant to be reassuring.

“Precisely. The time I could have spent finding Vriska to explain I saw Jade booking the pitch for tonight would also have been better spent on studying.”

“If you had actually spent that time studying. Which you didn’t.”

“Worrying could serve its purposes as well.”

“I am not sure that concerning yourself with what you should have done is very purposeful, Rose. As it is now half past eight, you could not change your decision now.”

Rose glanced out the library window, where the setting sun had painted the sky into deep pink stripes. Vriska would probably be finished shouting at Jade by now. Probably. “Thank you, Kanaya. As always, you are exactly what I need.”

A faint green tinted Kanaya’s cheeks. “I can often say the same about you.”

From behind the first shelf of books, rough yet quiet laughter broke the content silence.

“Awww, you two are so cute.”

“Roxy.” Rose abruptly turned around in her chair to face the shelves. “How long have you been here?”

“Since… about an hour?” Roxy poked her head out around the bookshelves, holding up a thick text in one hand. “Was just looking something up when the two of you came in. Didn’t want to say anything until now, but…”

“But you couldn’t help yourself. I see.” 

“Come on, other Ro-Lal! I just came from Potions class.”

“Is that so? I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“It’s really not what you think! Let’s say… something went wrong? But whatevs, we’re not here to discuss my Potions mishaps. I hear some great gossip incoming.” Roxy strolled over to the bench across from Rose and slid in sideways, propping herself up on the table with one arm. “What’s this about Vriska?”

“Should I be telling a rival House member about the secrets of Slytherin?” Rose asked, giving Roxy a wide-eyed stare of mock sincerity. 

“You told Kanaya,” Roxy pointed out.

“I must agree that to refuse Roxy would be something of a double standard on your part, Rose.”

“And neither of us are Gryffindors…”

“Then I suppose I have no choice. In Divination today, the acquisition of points for Slytherin House due to my success caused an outburst of pride in Vriska that unintentionally led to a rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin for our next Quidditch match. It just so happens that Jade Harley has taken the next step in said rivalry and pre-empted Vriska’s plans for practice tonight.”

“Wow, that’s it? I was expecting something juicier. Don’t your Houses have some kind of ancient rivalry already? Going back centuries?” Roxy shrugged. “I always thought that was one of the coolest things about your House…”

“It hasn’t been expressed in some time.”

“A decade, I thought,” Kanaya said.

“A little more than that. It certainly has not been a part of our schooling thus far. To the contrary, the Headmistress has been particularly concerned with promoting inter-House co-operation,” Rose noted. “Were she to become aware of this rivalry…”

“Vriska wouldn’t be happy?” Roxy asked.

“Both houses might lose points?” Kanaya suggested.

“…I don’t know, exactly. But it wouldn’t go well.”

“But you’re still going to win, right?” Roxy grinned, raising her eyebrows when Rose failed to do the same. “Right? I can’t have my family on the losing team!”

“Since when have you ever cared about-” Rose was cut off by Roxy shaking her head.

“Not important, Rose. This is a whole new side of me! ‘Sides, we need something to do to make this match memorable, and-”

“No.” Rose gave Roxy a stern look, cutting her off midsentence. “We are going to win or lose this match fairly, Roxy. I have confidence in the abilities of myself, and my team.”

“I think that’s a wise decision,” Kanaya agreed.

“Even if…” Roxy glanced around her, then leaned forward, cupping her mouth with one hand and whispering, “even if they did the same to you?”

Rose and Kanaya exchanged a puzzled look.

-

“On the bright side,” Terezi noted cheerfully, “you both smell like delicious grape candy right now.”

Had Rose been able to speak, she would have tried to tell Vriska that this probably didn’t have anything to do with the upcoming Quidditch match, while simultaneously attempting to drag her to the hospital ward. Apparently, to Vriska, breathing was not quite as important as incomprehensible venting of rage.

“YOU!” – was what Vriska was probably trying to say as she lunged for an unsuspecting Jade Harley, crossing the corridor ahead of the Slytherins. Jade’s eyes popped at the sight of the troll barrelling in her direction – or probably her tongue, since that was most of what Jade would be able to see at this point.

Rose sighed. Tried to sigh. 

“Don’t worry,” Terezi said to her, still grinning, “I’ll take you two up when she’s done here. I want to see this first.”

Is this really responsible? Rose wondered with a mental sigh.

“Vriska, you should probably go get some help first!” Jade was shouting at the other end of the hall. Her back was pressed against the bottom of a painting of an old wizard in a bathtub hanging behind her; the wizard was glaring fiercely down at her as her movement caused his tub to sway and tilt precariously. “I don’t know how you ate one of those toffees, but it wasn’t me or anyone else on the Gryffindor team!”

Vriska shouted something incoherent around her still-swelling tongue, jabbing a finger in Jade’s direction. Jade only shrank back against the painting even more, causing the bathtub to tip over with a flood of water across the floor of the painting. A moment later, the wizard reappeared on the other side of the tub, shaking a finger angrily at the two witches.

“And what was wrong with us practicing yesterday?! We have a match next week too, in case you didn’t notice! We just got there first! And I’m sorry, Mr. Wizard, but your painting is kind of awkwardly placed here! I know it’s not the first time it’s – or the second – I’ll go talk to someone about moving it, just… can I please deal with this first?!”

A cackle came from the direction Jade had been walking towards. An eerily familiar cackle. 

At the sound, Vriska fell silent, then abruptly turned on her heel and stormed back towards Rose and Terezi, grabbing them by the arms and leaving a rather peeved Jade behind.

“The hospital ward’s the other way,” Terezi pointed out. Vriska muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a comment on Terezi’s vision and kept walking.

Back at the painting of the wizard in the bathtub, Jade watched the Slytherins leave before turning to meet the approaching figure down her hallway.

“Okay, I don’t want to make any assumptions here…” she began, frowning at the other student, “but I think I know who did this to Rose and Vriska, and…”

“I agree! I definitely heard Peeves down that hallway just a moment ago! Who else would it have been? Ho ho!”

Yes, Jane’s smile was just a little too innocent.

“Jane!” Jade slouched back against the painting, knocking over the just-righted bathtub again. “Jane, look, I don’t want to point a lot of fingers here! But I can’t think of many places where Peeves would just manage to find some Ton-Tongue Toffees lying around, and I can think of someone who, say, worked at a certain prank shop over the summer!”

“Well… Okay, you might be right about that one!” Jane chuckled, a little sheepishly. “I was just trying to have a little harmless fun!”

“Fun that wouldn’t have anything to do with the upcoming Quidditch match, would it?”

“Jade, are you all right? You seem more grouchy than usual.” Jane leaned in, tugging Jade away from the grumpy wizard painting and onto a nearby stone bench. “Is everything all right?”

“Don’t try to change the subject on me! But… no, I think I am a little stressed! It’s just Vriska and the upcoming match; I can’t lose to her now after – those are Canary Creams, aren’t they?” Jade eyed the proffered sweets suspiciously.

“No, no, they’re perfectly normal! I wouldn’t prank you at a time like this. Anyway, I’m saving those for someone else.” Jane pressed a regular treat into Jade’s hand. “The real ones have to be good for the fakes to be believable! But… Vriska. Well. I’d be dishonest if I said your match didn’t play any part in this…”

“Why, though? You’re not even in Gryffindor!”

“No, but…” Jane squirmed in her seat, dropping her gaze to the uneaten puff in Jade’s hands. “We’re in Potions together, and it’s all she can talk about – how Slytherin is going to, and I quote, ‘totally kick lion ass’ in the next match. I just couldn’t stand listening to her anymore!”

“I can kind of understand that,” Jade admitted. “…Rose is going to be okay, right?”

“Oh, yes, it’s just a Ton-Tongue Toffee. Nothing Madam Pomfrey won’t have seen before!”

“Um…”

“Come to think of it, I wonder if they’ve cleaned up the Portable Swamp I set off in the hallway outside? Oh dear, that might make it a bit difficult to get to the infirmary.”

“Jane… you didn’t…”

Jane hopped off the bench, absentmindedly chewing on her lip as she stared down the hallway the Slytherins had departed by. “Jade, Rose hasn’t developed a taste for grubs, has she? I… may not have saved all the Canary Creams.”

Jade gave a resigned sigh; there was no way Gryffindor wasn’t going to be blamed for this one.

(Her suspicions would be proved correct the next day, when Jane’s warning of her stash of trick wands being swiped came only a little too late.

Fortunately, by that time the swamp was small enough to hop over. Well… for those who could hop.)

-

“Five points from Ravenclaw,” Professor Sinistra muttered as she snatched a Fanged Frisbee from Aradia’s hands. As she walked past, through the bleachers, Roxy made a face at the professor’s back.

“Killjoy,” she muttered. “It’s not like you were going to use it during the game or anything, right?”

“Actually, I was!” Aradia beamed. “I should probably be overjoyed at the strict enforcement of rules during a game. But you’re right; it isn’t as fun!”

“Uh, okay.” Roxy scooted over on the bench, nearly bumping into the student seated on her other side. “Isn’t that illegal, though? Against the rules of Quidditch?”

“Who knows? But our team isn’t playing, so shouldn’t it be okay?”

“Right… so why would you want to interfere with the game?”

“Oh, that’s because I don’t like Vriska very much!” Aradia continued to smile at Roxy, who inched back on the bench just a little more. That wizard next to her had plenty of space on the other side; he wouldn’t mind moving, right? “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t want to hurt Rose! She seems like a wonderful human.”

Roxy decided that was not particularly reassuring.

Over in the Hufflepuff section, a similar conversation was playing out.

“Kanaya,” Jane asked, sliding into a seat next to her, “you wouldn’t have happened to have seen any Daydream Charms, would you? I was sure I left them on the table at breakfast this morning, but they seem to have disappeared!”

“And what were you going to be doing with those?” Kanaya raised an eyebrow at Jane. “As a Prefect I am bound to prevent any misbehaviour by other students. Especially those in my own House,” she added, her look becoming particularly serious.

“I wasn’t going to do anything with them! Not today, of all days! …You didn’t see anyone else take them, did you? Could that be why you were looking at the Gryffindor table so much today? I didn’t know you were so close to-”

“Yes. I. I wanted to wish Jade luck for the match.”

“But I thought you were close to Rose-”

Jane’s question was cut off by the blast of a whistle. Brooms rose into the air in unison, the Keepers speeding off to their positions, and the Chasers going for the Quaffle, which was taken by-

“Peixes – uh, the Gryffindor Peixes, not the – well, she’s got the Quaffle, Feferi Peixes, Gryffindor, heading for – oh, no, she’s passed it to – no, hold on, the Quaffle has been taken by Megido – Slytherin Megido – no, hold on, only Megido on the pitch – got it, anyway she’s – she’s passed it to Lalonde, Slytherin- yes, Professor, got it, only Lalonde, not that you ever know when the other Lalonde’s going to show up-”

Roxy gave a cheer over in the Ravenclaw bleachers.

“-Lalonde has the Quaffle, she’s speeding towards the goal, is she going to take the shot, looks like – oh, Gryffindor caught it, no goal for Slytherin yet. Keeper’s Jade Harley, right? Of Gryffindor. Very talented Keeper. And she’s – right, Professor, all right, Quaffle is with Peixes again – Gryffindor Peixes – really? We can’t use first names for them?”

“Paycheque!” Latula hollered, slamming a Bludger in the direction of the Slytherin Keeper. Meenah dodged easily, and made a face at the Beater, but that allowed Gryffindor just enough time to slip behind her and put the Quaffle through a hoop.

As the cheers of Gryffindor erupted in the stadium, Meenah growled fish-based obscenities and flew back to her position. It didn’t stop Vriska’s screaming, though that was nearly drowned out by the cheers.

10-0. 

At 30-0, Feferi nearly took a Bludger to the arm.

At 30-20, Rose had the Quaffle again. Jade hovered in front of the goalposts, knuckles clenched on her broom as she watched Rose warily. There weren’t any other Slytherin Chasers around for a pass, and she had enough time to watch the approach; there was no way Jade would miss this- where was Vriska.

A second later, something smashed into Jade’s shoulder. As pain erupted through her body, the impact forced her to the side, over her broom and towards the ground. Her legs clenched around the broom instinctively, keeping her from falling, but her hand had come loose, and she couldn’t get a grip-

Another warm hand gripped hers, pulling Jade upright. Another hand stabilized her back until she could regain her balance fully. 

“Thanks,” Jade gasped, blinking tears from her eyes to see Rose hovering next to her, wearing a concerned frown. “Um, you probably didn’t miss the goal for me, did you?”

“I’d already thrown the Quaffle,” Rose said apologetically, floating away as Jade held herself up on her own. “I thought you’d seen the Bludger. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay! It’s not your fault. That’s part of Quidditch.” Jade still shot a glare into the middle of the pitch – she couldn’t see Vriska, but the Beater had to be somewhere in that direction. “It’s just part of winning…”

30-40: Vriska’s turn to take a Beater to the face. Fortunately for her, trolls were a bit more durable than humans. Nevertheless, the amount of Bludger injuries was surprisingly high for a Quidditch team.

“It’s almost like they’re actually trying to hurt each other,” the announcer commented. “Which I might expect from Serket, but- yes, Professor – I meant the other Serket. This is seriously confusing.”

50-40: A firework was set off in the Ravenclaw bleachers.

50-50: An answering firework from Hufflepuff. The fireworks proceeded through the next two goals of the match, excited chatter from the crowd and musings from the announcer about why neither House actually playing seemed to be involved.

At 60-60, Vriska had begun to pace the pitch on her broomstick, muttering to herself and occasionally shouting half-encouraging, half-threatening instructions at the rest of the Slytherin team.

A firework fizzled in the Ravenclaw benches, prompting a professor to elbow their way over to its source yet again, but its weary fizzle reflected the mood of the Quidditch players themselves. Most of the Chasers had begun to sag on their broomsticks, Terezi had started fanning herself with one of the Bludger bats, and Jade’s shoulder still throbbed painfully. Even the referee had started to cast surreptitious glances for the Snitch.

“Damara, get the Quaffle!” Vriska hollered down at the Chaser.

“And Megido has the Quaffle – passes it to Lalonde – they’re heading for the Gryffindor goal – narrowly dodges a Bludger there; good shot from Gryffindor – back to Megido – is she going to shoot?”

Damara was approaching quickly with the Quaffle. Out of the corner of her eye, Jade saw Vriska raising her bat, body angled towards her – if she dodged now, Damara would get the Quaffle through a goalpost, but if she went for the Quaffle-

A roar suddenly erupted in the stadium. Arm raised in the air, about to throw the Quaffle, Damara halted.

“And she’s got the Snitch!”

All eyes turned to the ground directly in front of the Slytherin goalposts, where the team Seekers both hovered just above the ground, so close their brooms must have been touching.

And indeed, they were: to everyone’s surprise, when the referee blew the whistle again, a hush came across the stadium.

For there, as Nepeta and Aranea opened their hands, was the Snitch – sitting right in the middle of their adjacent palms.

-

“There isn’t any precedent for this, to my knowledge,” Rose said to Jade, sitting next to her bed in the hospital ward. In the space behind her, Vriska was pacing, fingers clenched into fists and occasionally shaking them in the air. The rest of both teams were crowded into the small space, sitting on Jade’s and Vriska’s beds, and leaning against the walls between them. “I can’t say Quidditch is a particular area of knowledge for me, however. But they’re looking into it now. Vriska. I seem to recall Madam Pomfrey asking for you to remain in bed while-”

“No! I’m not staying in bed? Why should I? I’m fine! Fiiiiiiiine!” Vriska snapped. “One hit with a Bludger won’t take me down!”

“You said that after our last match with Ravenclaw last year,” Terezi said. “You were out for two weeks.”

“That was different!”

“Yeah, it was a lot of Bludgers that time…”

“So we still don’t know who won?” Sitting up in bed, Jade surveyed the students in the room with an increasingly worried look. “After all that? They aren’t going to count it as a tie?”

“There hasn’t ever been a Quidditch match that ended in a tie, much less one where both teams caught the Snitch. If the game hadn’t already been going on for hours, and we weren’t students playing on a day off, they’d probably have released the Snitch again and made us continue.”

“Which they should have done!” Vriska sneered. “That’s how it works in real Quidditch!”

“In real Quidditch, we don’t have classes the next day,” Rose pointed out. “There will probably be a rematch.”

Vriska scoffed and continued pacing.

“And yet,” Rose continued, “I think it would be better if we really did consider this to be a tie.”

The rest of the team members gave her a puzzled glance. An outraged choking sound came from Vriska.

“Why?” Jade asked. “We’ve been working so hard to win!”

“Precisely. Our desire to win has outweighed the fun of the game. We’ve even co-opted members of other Houses into our rivalry. In what way does that contribute to the inter-House co-operation we should be prioritizing?”

“I guess that makes sense…” Jade shrugged and settled back into the pillows. “I know I’m not up for another game yet, so that sounds fine to me! And I like all of you! I don’t want to keep being angry, or…”

“As do I,” Rose agreed.

“Vriska can be a jerk sometimes,” Feferi said from Vriska’s bed, prompting annoyed looks from more than just Vriska, “but other than that I agree with everything you just said!”

“It does seem like the kind of moral we should take to heart,” Aranea, said. Mutters of agreement came from the rest of both teams.

“Exactly!” Vriska raised her foot to stomp it, pausing in mid-air and casually bringing it down instead. “It sounds like the stupid moral of some stupid friendship story! That doesn’t sound ridiculous to anyone else?!”

“Now that you mention it…” Terezi shrugged.

“I like those stories, though,” Jade said. “They’re a lot better than the ones that don’t end happily!”

“So… rematch?” Vriska offered a hopeful smile to the Quidditch players in the room. “How about next week? Hell, why not tomorrow, we can book the pitch for then, can’t we?”

The other students in the room exchanged uneasy glances.

“Um, Vriska…” Jade began. “I don’t know if…”

“I think we’d all like a break,” Terezi continued.

“Yeah, we’ve got lives, you know,” Meenah said.

“Vriska,” Rose interrupted, “do you remember what I saw in the crystal ball in Divination?”

“Yeah? What about it?”

“I’d like to use this incident to prove it actually came true. N.E.W.T.S. are only a few months away, and it would be nice to have some evidence my studying is paying off.”

“I guess I can accept that,” Vriska said, shrugging. “Fine! For Rose’s Seer powers, we can tie this one. But – Slytherin team! Practice Monday! That means we get the pitch that night, okay, Jade? You got it last week, so it’s our turn!”

Jade didn’t even have to ask the Gryffindor team to know there were no complaints about that.


End file.
